Most news programmes now have a business section.This might give us the illusion that we are all equally affected by stock markets and financial speculation.When we care to study the facts and figures,however,it will soon become clear that the glamorous financial deals we regularly hear about benefit to only a tiny minority of people.According to a recent report published in the US,the wealthiest 1% of the population control more than one third of all the nation's wealth.This concentration of wealth among the very rich and has mostly remained constant over the past ten years.On the other one hand,the living standards of a large proportion of the population have stagnated or declined.This kind phenomenon is by no means unique to the US,it is indeed a common throughout the industrialised world well.It is also occurring in emerging economies like India and China.As the gap between average families and not the very few ultra-rich continues to widen,it seems urgent to address the issue of global inequality of wealth and income distribution. ____________ ____________ __________ ____________ ____________ _____________ ___________